Winner of First ERB Memorial Scholarship!

Congrats to Dylan Ferreira of Massachusetts who was the first ever recipent of the ERB Scholarship Award! Dylan won a $2,500 award for his 2017 tuition and education expenses. Please read about this worthy recipient below.

My Story – by ERB Memorial Scholarship recipient Dylan Ferreira

I first heard about this scholarship at last year’s NBBC Annual Awards Banquet. I applied for the scholarship to show some of the work that I have done in recent years. I hope from that, people can see that the state and federal government, universities, and private companies are working vigorously along side hunters to help maintain viable wildlife populations that can be sustained over many years to come for everyone to enjoy. I also applied for the scholarship hoping to receive some financial support to help me pay for schooling.

As a college student attending UMASS Amherst, I am majoring in Natural Resource Conservation, and concentrating in Wildlife Ecology, I realized this scholarship was a perfect fit for me. After this year I will graduate with my Bachelor’s degree in NRC. With some luck and hard work, I hope to continue my schooling into graduate school to work on my Master’s degree in some form of Wildlife Management with white-tailed deer. As an avid deer hunter, my passion for white-tailed deer has grown stronger every year. Once all of my schooling is completed I hope to work with the state or private agencies studying and controlling deer populations in the Northeast, preferably in my home state of Massachusetts.

Hunting deer for me began with a singular focus on being successful, as one would think. Now after several years of hunting and maturing, I have realized the best part of hunting and harvesting a deer is the hunt itself. Whether it’s spending time in the woods scouting, setting trail cameras or tree stands, or helping buddies do the same along the way, this is what we live for. Through hunting, I experience the outdoors in many great ways that teach many life-long lessons. Hunting has taught me patience especially, from times like holding off from a shot on a nice buck until he gives you that perfect window, even if your knees are shaking the whole time. Then again if you waited much longer your arms may fall off from being at full draw. Many other lessons are taught, even some hard ones now and again.

The outdoors is so important to me because it teaches me so much and it’s what brings me more happiness than any new phone or “trendy gadgets.” It’s more than a materialistic item. Through hunting, I spend time with family and friends carrying on traditions and creating bonds that can last a lifetime, all while enjoying the great outdoors. Knowing how much I can enjoy life by spending time outdoors makes me realize that it has to be managed, conserved, and protected for future generations to come. The youth of today will be tomorrow’s game wardens, wildlife biologists and hunters, and we need them. They need to experience the outdoors like we all have, so they know what it has to offer other than firewood, maple syrup, and a nice new house lot. So much can be taught through hunting, fishing and just spending time outdoors and we need to preserve what we have for us and our future generations to come. And I am going to dedicate my career to doing just that!